Thread Viewing- Setting Options Feature Doesn't Retain Setting between Log-Ins--Fix??

[viper69]

When I log in to AB3.0 I immediately go into a forum, and for every forum I FIRST scroll to the bottom and go to Thread Display Options drop down tab.

I set it for Thread Creation Time, and Descending Order. Then I click to the right for Set Option.

The board will always display that settings are saved.

However, when I log out, and log back in at some point. I have to reset this feature EVERY TIME, for EACH FORUM.

This happened on AB2.0 as well.

Can this not be set as a Preference in my user Profile via the UCP (User Control Panel) at some point?

There's nothing that drives me crazy on the board, except this one feature which never retains the setting between log ins.


SO, I'm wondering, is it happening only on my end??? Or do all users have to do this??

Thanks!

 

[MrDeranged]

Looking into this for you. I'm not sure myself.

 

[viper69]

Looking into this for you. I'm not sure myself.

Much appreciated. Not sure why I didn't bring it up on 2.0, and thought it was odd to see it again on 3.0

 

[MrDeranged]

Just heard back and that setting is not supposed to be remembered, so you will have to keep changing it each time if that's the sort order that you like.

May I ask why you want to sort by thread creation date as opposed to last post?

 

[viper69]

Just heard back and that setting is not supposed to be remembered, so you will have to keep changing it each time if that's the sort order that you like.

May I ask why you want to sort by thread creation date as opposed to last post?

Thanks for checking back so quickly . I had a feeling that was the case , you don't know how much it drives me crazy to reset that feature for the sub-forums. It would be like always having to re-set your email alert settings or any other feature you always use on the forum, and RELY on.

Sure thing. the reasons I prefer to sort by thread creation, most recent listing first are the following:

1. The most recent threads are the newest posts, sort of like the news of the day. I've already read yesterday's news. From how I like to consume information, having the thread display set to anything other than what I set it to serves no purpose for me.
2. The older posts that I have gone through, I have no reason to see if someone posted recently to them (thus appearing at the top, if sorted that way) BECAUSE if I was interested in them, I already have email alerts, and the handy alerts "tab" on the forum itself to show me who has responded to which thread I've already posted in. The "last post" sort feature I find utterly useless.

Make sense?

Are you able to make this a UCP setting?

 

[The Snark]

Just a guess. Sounds like a write to disk issue. Changes are kept in memory and updated only periodically. Some are retained and some get lost in the wash.

 

[viper69]

Just a guess. Sounds like a write to disk issue. Changes are kept in memory and updated only periodically. Some are retained and some get lost in the wash.

Write to disk on my end???

 

[The Snark]

Write to disk on my end???

Theirs. The once per hour refresh comes to mind. Probably a DB protection to keep from flooding the instruction set. Might just be an oddity in the scripting.

 

[viper69]

Theirs. The once per hour refresh comes to mind. Probably a DB protection to keep from flooding the instruction set. Might just be an oddity in the scripting.

Just making sure we are on the same page.

 

[The Snark]

May I ask why you want to sort by thread creation date as opposed to last post?

Thread creation date is handy for keeping track of origin posts but is useless if the DB upgrades/updates/portings don't retain embedded data (ala Windows HUGE PIECE OF REEKING DOO DOO DB handling... Yes. Thank you so very much remembering when I copied the thing but I want to know when it was originally made, you idiots!)

 

[MrDeranged]

@The Snark Nothing on our end, it's how the software is programmed. That setting is not made to be stored.

@viper69 I may have somewhat of a workaround for you. Which forums do you normally frequent that you look at threads in that order?

 

[viper69]

@viper69 I may have somewhat of a workaround for you. Which forums do you normally frequent that you look at threads in that order?

The Tarantula Chat, Tarantula Questions (the scientific oriented one), Vivariums and the Classifieds. Those are the 4 I visit the most.

 

[The Snark]

I spent, wasted an hour going through the bowels of a similar forum structure. It seems this problem, so to speak is common to most if not all forums. All those settings are dynamic and part of the search function and the search function has no ability to record and retain it's settings. It isn't an actual part of the forum structure or DB. The search user must program it, give it variables, each time it is used.

It seems to me a programmer could possibly build the search in to the retain individual preferences but that is way too complicated. It would not only have to be rewritten, it would have to accept variables each and every time or you would have to change your preferences each time or be unable to use the search function for anything else.

Keep in mind the search is global. Everyone uses the same engine, inserting your own variables and parameters with each use. If you want it to first go grubbing through your preferences for parameters, you write the several hundreds lines of additional code. Don't forget to include the permissions hierarchy!

 

[viper69]

I spent, wasted an hour going through the bowels of a similar forum structure. It seems this problem, so to speak is common to most if not all forums. All those settings are dynamic and part of the search function and the search function has no ability to record and retain it's settings. It isn't an actual part of the forum structure. The search user must program it, give it variables, each time it is used.

It seems to me a programmer could possibly build the search in to the retain individual preferences but that is way too complicated. It would not only have to be rewritten, it would have to accept variables each and every time or you would have to change your preferences each time or be unable to use the search function for anything else.

Keep in mind the search is global. Everyone uses the same engine, inserting your own variables and parameters with each use. If you want it to first go grubbing through your preferences for parameters, you write the several hundreds lines of additional code. Don't forget to include the permissions hierarchy!

I'm no programmer. But surely if one can select the myriad of preferences in the UCP and those are remembered, how one wants the threads displayed could be too. I'm almost positive I'm a member of another forum which has a thread setting feature, not like this forum's but similar. I'll have to check.

All the settings are dynamic in my head, that is they can always be changed, from profile theme to... No?

 

[The Snark]

But surely if one can select the myriad of preferences in the UCP and those are remembered, how one wants the threads displayed could be too.

If you find something it would certainly be worth checking out.

The crux of the biscuit as we have now and with all search engines is it searches a DB using filters. Filters simply limit or restrict what it returns. There are global preferences that can be added to the filters, even menu selections, but each of these are globals as well. It has no ability to automatically go to an individuals account settings, get specific custom filter parameters, then use those instead of the globals.

For example, open the search engine and select tags. It gives you a command line to enter your filter. It also goes to the forum DB and returns Most Popular Tags. Those tags can be set up manually by the admins or the search engine is instructed to run a preliminary search of the DB filters for the top X number of hits and returns those.

What you want is the engine to search a users preferences, find the parameters the user has set (instead of the globals), plug that into a filter, then return the results. So the search engine has to check who the user is, run a preliminary search to see if the user has search preferences set, takes those preferences and builds a custom filter on the fly.

This can be done but that is one sophisticated complex code. First it has to have a format set up globally where the user builds a filter in preferences. Then it has to be told to not use the global filters but get the user, get the user preference, get the filter, then use that instead. Then the question is, which filter? So initially you would have one choice. Every time user X uses the search it would always return that specific instruction. If you want more than one search ability, a menu would have to be set up. Custom filter 1, 2, 3, and so on. And of course an error level if no filter has been set or X does not want to use the custom filters and just use the normal globals. And last but not least, it all has to be set up so there will be no paradoxes or conflicts which results in a loop or a null/divide by 0.

 

[viper69]

This can be done but that is one sophisticated complex code.

Very informative, thanks. You know we sent man to the moon with less code. I "can't" believe some of the simplest of things with software is technically so challenging.

 

[The Snark]

I'll give you a horrible long winded incomprehensible example of the search engine blues.

I was running an email service of sorts using Thunderbird. We had 6 users, about 20 email accounts, and access permission for select 'guests' on two accounts. So I wrote a filter that accessed a off program file that contained scripts. I used Linux structure control protocols. Using NT and SQL is a very fast trip to the funny farm.

Person A could check accounts 1, 3, 4 and 7, person B, 2, 3,4, and 9 and so on. And read-write-execute-delete-move-make toast etc assigned to each. All about filters and assignments.
Over the eons things were added, but never removed: Don't touch that! You never know what it may be attached to! And it grew and grew. It worked very spiffy all on it's own for about 2 years.
Then one day I got some errors and problems and of course Thunderbird had been upgraded numerous times so I dived into my script file. I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at. I wondered if I had even written some of the glurp in there. How in freaking hell does that work? Where does that trigger what?
To make a long story short, it fell into disuse. It still resides on the comp, now renamed Blunderturd. Maybe some year when I'm heading into dementia I'll go back through that morass.

 

[MrDeranged]

I'm no programmer. But surely if one can select the myriad of preferences in the UCP and those are remembered, how one wants the threads displayed could be too. I'm almost positive I'm a member of another forum which has a thread setting feature, not like this forum's but similar. I'll have to check.

All the settings are dynamic in my head, that is they can always be changed, from profile theme to... No?

Totally different systems in the software. "User" preferences are of course made to be remembered per user. The Thread Order display was not programmed to be a "User" preference, but a "Global" preference. In other words, none of the systems are in place to remember users choices and it will always revert back to the "Global" setting.

Now, as for that workaround, it's not ideal, but try these links:

Tarantula Chat
Tarantula Questions & Discussions
Vivariums & Terrariums
Premium For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy
For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy

Hope those help

 

[The Snark]

Very informative, thanks. You know we sent man to the moon with less code. I "can't" believe some of the simplest of things with software is technically so challenging.

When the designs were written up for a US Military aircraft, the Lockheed C-130, the paperwork to be submitted to the Pentagon fit in a cardboard box one person could carry.
When the Pentagon put out a request for a replacement of the C-130 Lockheed submitted a bid and specs. That time it required a C-130 to carry the paperwork.
Nothing quite like the making something a little over-complicated.

And on that note, all we have to do is lock MrD in a closet to rewrite the global preferences.

 

[viper69]

Totally different systems in the software. "User" preferences are of course made to be remembered per user. The Thread Order display was not programmed to be a "User" preference, but a "Global" preference. In other words, none of the systems are in place to remember users choices and it will always revert back to the "Global" setting.

Now, as for that workaround, it's not ideal, but try these links:

Tarantula Chat
Tarantula Questions & Discussions
Vivariums & Terrariums
Premium For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy
For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy

Hope those help

That did help. I didn't know you could bookmark a page once the thread options were set. Hmm I will hang onto these and see how it goes for now! Thanks for looking into this.